Archive for August, 2006

Interesting news, three of the old hands at Sidhe have left to found their own firm called Wandering Monster. The game they’re developing is a PC-based MMO. Eek! The gods haven’t struck them down for hubris yet, so I’d say it’s off to a good start. 😉 Very few details are available just yet.

The brass at Sidhe seemed to take it gracefully. After all, damn near everybody in the games industry has some sort of ambition toward starting their own studio.

Much like Origin Systems practically created the game development scene in Austin, Texas, this could be the start of a cluster of Wellington games companies. Origin’s gone now, but its ex-employees have founded Digital Anvil, ION Storm Austin, Destination Games, Titanic, Asylumsoft, Loose Cannon, and the exodus also was heavily involved in Looking Glass and Sony Online Entertainment.

Work has basically been more of the same. It’s a struggle for me; I’m just too much of a n00b to make a good, quick job of rewriting the I/O system.

Around me there’s a team going through submission hell. This is the part of a console game’s development when the developer considers the game ready for release, and hands it off to the publisher and the console manufacturer for final testing. And again. And again. And again, until the game finally stops getting failed.

The publisher is usually pretty reasonable: they have at least a cashflow motivation to get the game out the door. On the other hand, the console company has all the time in the world, and the fear that half-baked games will damage the reputation of their platform. They compile lengthy checklists and are very particular about making sure the game meets them.

If you’ve ever wondered why playstation games always talk about not removing the Memory Card (8MB, PS2) in Memory Card Slot 1 during saving, it’s because of the checklist.